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The Compound
Prologue

All Excerpts From: S. A. Bodeen. “The Compound.”
"T. S. ELIOT WAS WRONG.external image T.S.%20Eliot.jpgMY WORLD ENDED WITH A BANG the minute we entered the Compound and that silver door closed behind us.
The sound was brutal.
Final.
An echoing, resounding boom that slashed my nine-year-old heart in two. My fists beat on the door. I bawled. The screaming left me hoarse and my feet hurt”

Excerpt From: S. A. Bodeen. “The Compound.” iBooks.


Chernobyl Diaster


Allusions and other References

Arabian Nights

external image 23ec314e23614aa13a.jpg"Dad stopped in front of a purple door. Lexie pushed it open and squealed. Leave it to her to cheer up over material possessions. Like something out of the Arabian Nights book, silk tapestries and curtains of bright colors were draped everywhere." Eli
Tales from the Arabian Nights
Arabian Nights - Pinterest



Winnie the Pooh
external image 0e28b09da95bd0add75fc8f1f60380fb.jpg"Mom clutched my six-year old sister, Lexie a sobbing pigtailed lump in flowered flannel. From one small hand dangled her beloved Winnie the Pooh."
external image disney-winnie-the-pooh.jpg




Middle East, Iran, North Korea
external image 553px-Middle_East_(orthographic_projection).svg.png
external image middle_east_map.gif"Every evening, dinner included updates Dad downloaded from the Internet, updates on the U.S. involvement in the Middle East, the status of nuclear programs in places like Iran and North Korea, names that had been added to those with WMDs."

*Belgium
external image europe.gif
external image belg-MMAP-md.png"The evening ritual began with Els, an old lady from Belgium, who was one of our Family's cooks."


Vocabulary and Concepts

nuclear explosion
apocalypse
weapons of mass destruction, WMD
underground shelter
radiation




Literary Devices


" Other kids go bedtime stories about fairies and dogs. We fell asleep with visions of weapons of mass destruction dancing in our heads." Eli

"Our grave circumstances had not yet sunk in. I was a robot, dazed, simply sliding off the stool to follow my father and my older sister. It felt like a dream." Eli



"Dad rubbed my shoulder. Suddenly his touch suffocated me. My stomach lurched, and I thought I might be sick." Eli



"Lexie, a sobbing pigtailed lump" Eli